Let's talk recipes -- are you as random as I am?

[Gary350]

Wife made cup cakes today. We both though it was chocolate cake from the box picture but after pouring the mix into a bowl it was RED color. She added chocolate chips to the mix cup cakes turned out good. I had one 1/4 eaten before I though about pictures.

[imafan26]

It looks like it is a red velvet cake. It still looks good.

[pepperhead212]

I made a delicious version of Bisi Bele Bhaat - a traditional southern Indian dish combining rice and lentils, and a number of vegetables. I didn't have any potatoes (too expensive lately, and I don't grow them) or drumsticks (don't grow them either, but looked into it, of course!), but I cut up about 3 cups of butternut squash, and a huge red bell pepper, plus 12 oz of frozen green beans, which stayed incredibly crunchy! Also, to make it better than the usual white rice, I used some brown rice, and even more barley - about 1:2, and half cooked them together in the IP on low pressure for 12 min., then let the pressure release, while I was doing the other work. When done, there was a slight crunch, which I wanted.

While this was cooking, I made the masala - dehydrated coconut, urad and chana dal, coriander seed, cumin, cardamom pods, and byadagi and kashmiri peppers, broken up. All this was mixed with a tb of coconut oil, then toasted in the skillet over a medium heat for about 4½ min, until browned some. These were cooled and ground together.
Ingredients for the masala, to make Bisi Bele Bhaat, minus the chili peppers, cut up. Those white blobs the tb of coconut oil, melting to coat everything, to toast. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All of the masala ingredients, tossed with a tb of coconut oil, before browning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The masala mix, toasted for a little over 4 minutes, over a medium flame. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

1/2 c of toor dal was simmered 12 min in 4 c water with 1/2 tsp turmeric, and a tsp of salt. Then the butternut cubes were added, with about 3 c of that cooked rice/barley mix, rinsed well with cold water. This was cooked, covered, for 12 more minutes, then the rinsed beans and bell pepper cubes were stirred in, and simmered, covered, for 5 more minutes

Then the masala, a tb of tamarind concentrate, and 10 curry leaves were stirred in, and simmered for another 5 minutes. A tb of ghee is stirred into it, to mix in, then it's done.
Adding the beans and red bell pepper, to cook another 5 minutes, before adding the masala. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After mixing in the bell pepper and beans, to cook about 5 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished bisi bele. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also had a cucumber pachadi on the side - a spicy southern version of the raita.

[imafan26]

When I see the spices, I can almost smell the aromatics in the dish. It has lovely colors too.

[pepperhead212]

Being outside, and busy with garden stuff (it's that time!), last night I made a quick cooked cucumber dal, with a sort of pachadi on the side. The pachadi had the rest of the cucumbers in id, along with some carrot, also shredded, and a mix of cooked brown rice and barley (frozen about a week ago). Tonight, I had the leftovers from that, plus some miniature khakhra, made with 4 different whole grain flours. The khakhra are miniature crispy ones, which I pressed with a tortilla press, and weighted them briefly in the pan with some ramekins - tried a heavy pan, but they stuck to it!
A cooked cucumber dish, with chana dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tarka added to the cucumber /carrot pachadi. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cooking some khakhra, with 2 ramekins used as the weights. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished, crispy khakhra by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I was in the mood for something Chinese today, so I soaked some dried eggplant, and some brown rice - the soaked brown rice would cook in about the same time as chana dal, on low pressure, which I did in the Instant Pot, with the eggplant. While that was cooking, I browned some ground pork (only 8 oz, though the finished dish looks like a lot more, with the dark rice) in a wok, starting with a Szechwan mix of garlic, ginger, and the chili paste. I added a little light and dark soy, and eggs at the end, like fried rice, stirring up that fond from the browning. Then, the cooked rice and lentils were stirred in, with a lot of chopped scallions, from the hydroponics. I also made a Chinese type cucumber salad, and snacked on that, while cooking!
Fried rice/chana dal, with ground pork and eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chinense style salad, with cukes and red bell peppers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Soup weather today! I trimmed a bunch of that cutting celery in the hydroponics, and I got the idea for a soup. I used mostly the stems, in the mirepoix - the leaves I'll use in something else.
Leaf celery trimmed from the hydroponics. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I made a batch of mushroom barley beef soup, and I put a couple cups of cubed butternut squash, leftover from the last thing I made with it. I didn't have any fresh mushrooms, but had about 1/2 c duxelles in the freezer, which is about a pound, cooked down. Plus .75 oz of dried boletus, which adds a lot of flavor to these soups, and other mushroom dishes.
Mushroom beef barley soup, with a little butternut squash added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I made a salad today, since it was hot out (well, maybe not hot, but like late May around here!). I cooked some whole mung beans and chana dal, and added some diced potatoes (got a little too soft for a red potato, in that time), a large diced red bell pepper, plus some scallion greens, cutting celery, dill, and parsley from the hydroponics. I drained a can of kippered herring (got a bunch of these from Ocean State Job Lots, for $1.49 with a digital coupon), and chopped them up, and chopped 5 frozen Thai peppers, and stirred all this together, with a couple tb of toasted sesame seeds. The dressing was a simple EVOO and white wine vinegar, a little soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper, as always. Delicious! Could have put more heat in it - maybe tomorrow.

I also made some breadsticks, with the new yeast I just got, because I noticed that the old yeast was showing its age, the last couple of times I used it. It rose incredibly well, as always, when new, and I didn't even use the usual amount. I keep it in the fridge, and the "best by" date I wrote on the label was 5-22, but I definitely needed to replace it. Only wasted a few tb, so most was used.
Bread sticks, made with new yeast. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I made another batch of breadsticks today.
Some soft, whole grain bread sticks, I often bake to eat with Indian food, in place of flat breads. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I was hungry for some Indian food, and I baked those breadsticks to have with it, what ever I decided. I got some vegetables out of the freezer, plus that frozen dhansak masala, that I froze back in September (something I don't use as much as others). I cooked the curry in the Instant Pot, with 1/2c each of chana dal, masoor dal, and whole oats, and while that cooked I made a quick and easy coconut chutney, with some rehydrated unsweetened coconut, 3 green chilis, 1/2 tb grated ginger, and a little salt, ground up together. Then a tarka is made, and poured on the top.
The coconut, green chilis, ginger, and salt, ground up for the chutney. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The chutney, topped with the tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

When the dal was finished, I added the drained beans, and bottle gourd, about 12 oz each, and cooked a few minutes. Amazing how crunchy those vegetables were after freezing since the summer.
Dhansak curry, with a coconut chutney, and breadstick. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Looks good. I have been craving muffins. I have a mix that makes 2 muffins, but the directions are only for the oven. Does anyone have a recipe for a cake or muffin that I can make in the microwave oven for one or two? If I have more than that, not only can I not eat it all, it will get lost in the freezer. Been there, done that.

[pepperhead212]

I had some beans from last season, that I had in the freezer, vacuum sealed. I was going over to a friend's house for dinner, and she asked if I had any beans yet. I told her it was way too early, but I still had a bunch in the freezer from last year, I've been trying to use up! So I took out a pound, and put 1 1/2 c brown basmati to soak, briefly, then cooked it in the IP. While doing that, I got a large onion sliced, 2 very large cloves of garlic minced, a tb of ginger minced (plus 2 tsp for the chutney), plus a green and orange bell pepper, diced. Started out with the onion in some olive oil, then the garlic and ginger briefly, then the bell pepper, plus about 1/4 c tomato paste toward the end, with 2 tsp garam masala (just made a new batch of this last week!), a tsp of the coriander/cumin mix, and a tsp of turmeric, stirred for about a minute. Then the thawed and drained beans, and stirred until heated through and steamy, about 2 minutes. Then I stirred in most of the hot rice, until it looked about the right amount - probably about 7/8 of it - plus another 3/4 tsp garam masala, plus about 3/4 c chopped cilantro. I finished it with a tarka made with a tb of ghee with 3/4 tsp mustard seeds and 1 1/4 tsp cumin seeds cooked briefly, then about 15 halved curry leaves, and 3/4 tsp asafoetida, cooked about 10 seconds, then poured on the dish. Usually I have a bunch of dried peppers in this tarka, but someone couldn't eat that today, so we added heat with pepper flakes at the table.
Brown basmati rice and Thai red beans, with Indian seasonings. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Just before starting this, I made a super simple chutney - a mint cilantro chutney, with some yogurt added. I used two slices of the bell pepper instead of chiles, as someone who was eating couldn't eat heat.
1 1/2 c chopped peppermint
3/4 c chopped cilantro
2 tsp chopped ginger
2 small green chiles, sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
About 1 tsp salt
1 tb lemon juice
2-3 tb water (to get it circulating in blender)
1/2 c yogurt, whisked until smooth

Combine everything except yogurt in blender, or wet/dry grinder, and blend until smooth. Whisk this into the yogurt, and correct seasonings.

The main dish was a beef brisket, that was smoked for about 5 hours, at a low temp.; I went home, while the son was doing that, to work in my garden, then make these dishes to take back there. My Indian friend wanted these recipes, and said she wished she had some rotis to dunk in the chutney, to use it all up! She said this cinches it - she has to plant a mint patch, like I have!

[pepperhead212]

I made something in my Instant Pot today - an Indian dish I made up to use that okra, and bottle gourd I had from recent harvests. It's a subzi, similar to that Chole Masala I made a while back, using that same spice mix I made then. I first made up a mix of 1/3 c each of toor dal, mung dal, and masoor dal, plus 1/2 c whole oat groats. I just cooked this in 4 1/2 c water, and 1/2 tb salt - seasoning came later - under pressure for 13 min, and let the pressure release naturally. While that cooked, I got all the other ingredients ready. When the pressure was released, I removed the dal mix into a bowl. Then used the IP to sauté the onions in 2 tb coconut oil, followed by the peppers, for several minutes, until softened. Then I cooked the garlic, ginger, and chili mix about a minute, with 3 tb of the chole masala spice mix, then I added the tomatoes - a generous 2 c chopped up - and 3/4 tsp turmeric. I cooked this on sauté/low, until very thick, stirring frequently. Then I stirred in all the vegetables, and 1/2 c water, brought it to a boil, hit "off", then slow cook/high, covered, and simmered about 25 minutes. Then, I stirred in the dal mix, a little more water, and 3/4 tsp garam masala, and let it cook while I prepared the tarka. For this I heated 1 tb coconut oil over a medium heat, adding the tsp each of mustard seed and cumin seed, and when it started crackling, the pepper pieces, and after 30 sec or so, 12 curry leaves, and 1/2 tsp asafoetida, and after 20 sec or so, scraped it into the IP, mixed it in, and served it with some cilantro. Tomorrow I'll take some over to my friend's house, with a couple of chutneys I know they love. And she always has some flatbreads!
5 days worth of okra, to put in an Indian dish I threw together. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Onions, and the minced up ginger, garlic, and green chili pepper. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Diced up bottle gourd, to cook with the okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 2 cups of sweet peppers, to add to the veggies. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 2 cups of tomatoes, to be chopped up fine, for the sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bottle Gourd and okra, stirred into the seasoned tomato sauce, to be simmered about 25 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The cooked dal and oat mix, stirred into the vegetables. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Seasonings for the tarka, mustard seed and cumin seed, kashmiri chili, and asafetida with cumin leaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Stirring the tarka in, to temper the dish, and cook a few minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished vegetable subzi, made with some of the chole masala, 3 dals, and some oat groats. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

I’m too lazy to look for best match topic so I’ll post this here — apparently this summer’s goto dessert / snack in Japan is coffee jello.

It looked super simple and I just threw it together on a whim —

• Wash and rinse with cold water to have ready small (approx 6oz) heat resistant glasses and jars (I used French cafe glasses and yogurt jars)

• Mix in bottom of a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup or other heat resistant container with a pouring spout —
  1 and 1/2 packets of unflavored gelatin mixed with 4 level teaspoons of raw cane sugar and a tiny pinch of sea salt

• Add 2 cups freshly brewed strong coffee (I used Colombian blend coffee for best aroma and universal appeal flavor in our family)

• Start stirring as soon as the gelatin sugar mixture has been moistened so they dissolve evenly and thoroughly.

• Fill the prepared jars about 1/2 way — about 2~3 oz each — with the hot coffee mixture

• Cover with plastic wrap or silicone lids and refrigerate until set

Enjoy with milk, plant-based milk, creamer, etc. of your choice —

Adjust sweetness as desired. (I’ve tried mixture of frozen coconut whipped topping and rice milk, a couple of spoons of cane sugar on the coffee jello topped with equal amount of rice milk, etc. Vanilla or coffee ice cream might match well too….)

To eat, use a long ice tea spoon and break up the jello and scoop out with the milk. Finish by thoroughly scraping the jello and drinking the fragments with the last of the milk.

[pepperhead212]

Had leftovers tonight, but someone on another forum got me thinking about that butternut flour, so I looked up a recipe that I had made with it before, that called for 15 oz of canned pumpkin. Here it is. I didn't make the frosting, but I have made something like that before, with a cream cheese, that was delicious. I didn't mind baking something, since I had turned that AC off!
https://www.straightupfood.com/blog/201 ... e-squares/

You can see the butternut paste - I made it with 1.25 oz of flour, with water stirred in to make 16 oz, and that made it very thick. Actually, the texture is more like a pie, than a cake.
Butternut flour/water paste, added to a variation on pumpkin cake. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Butternut flour cake, ready to blend, before blending, and mixing with oat flour and spices. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished butternut cake. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I made an okra dish today for a friend and I to snack on, based on a thoran dish - a dish from Kerala, made with many kinds of vegetables, sometimes combinations. The recipe in the lastest Milk Street Magazine was with broccolini, and it gave me the idea to use the okra this way, since I had a bunch of it I had to use.

I based it on some recipe I had made before, using beans. This was a quart of okra, about 3 c, once trimmed and cut into pieces. The half cup of coconut - what makes it Keralan - was pounded to a paste, with 2 cloves garlic and 3 red chilis, and a half tsp salt. And I measured out a tsp each of mustard and cumin seeds, plus urad dal.

I heated up about 2 tb of coconut oil in a wok, on medium, and added the spices - heated until spices crackled a little, and a dozen curry leaves were added, and cooked briefly. And a large chopped scallion was added, and cooked 2 minutes. Then okra was added, and cooked about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, and deglazing 3 times, by adding about 2 tb water each time. Then the paste was added, and mixed well, and cooked 2 minutes, stirring frequently, then deglazing one last time, with the a little water.
Makes 2 large helpings, or more, served with more dishes, as part of a meal.
Getting ready to pound the smashed peppers and garlic with the coconut, for the Thoran by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A little coriander cumin powder (dhania jeera) added to the paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished paste, for okra thoran. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mustard and cumin seed, and urad dal for the okra thoran. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Sputtering the spices in the coconut oil by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Curry leaves added to spices, for a few seconds by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Okra added, to cook on medium for about 6 minutes, adding a couple of tb water, if anything is sticking - did about 3 times. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Paste added, to cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. I added another 2 tb water and scraped the bottom, before serving. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished okra thoran by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I had a pound of mushrooms I had to use up, and since it was sort of cool at nights lately, I made a mushroom soup. I used a cup of 3 different lentils, plus a half cup of barley - a favorite combination of mine with mushrooms.

I started out with a mirepoix of minced shallot, carrot, and celery, cooked in some homemade ghee, giving that browned butter flavor. I added a couple of cloves of garlic, minced with some Syrian oregano (intense thyme flavor), and fresh rosemary, then added a few tb of tomato paste, and cooked this about 2 minutes longer. Then I added the water from soaking and cleaning 1/2 oz boletus mushrooms (where most of the dark color is from), and cooked the 2 c water down to about a cup, with the minced boletus. Then I added 5 more cups water, 1/3 c each of toor, chana, and masoor dal, plus 1/2 c pearl barley. I added 2 tb thin soy, and a little more salt, plus a generous amount of black pepper. I mixed it all well, covered to seal it, and set on manual, 20 minutes, then let the pressure release on its own.

While this was cooking, I washed and cut up the mushrooms, then steamed them in a wok (sorry, not a one dish meal) with a couple tb of water, boiled the water off, then sautéed in a couple tsp of oil - an easy method I use a lot now. I also cut up over a cup of long beans, and diced 2 small red potatoes. After the IP released, I added the potatoes, adding a little more salt, and simmered 10 minutes. Then I added all the mushrooms and beans, and simmered about 10 more minutes. Then I stirred in some chopped parsley, and topped a bowl with some Asiago cheese. Fantastic, and a lot leftover!
Toor, chana, and masoor dals, plus a half cup of pearl barley, for the mushroom soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cut up beans, to be added to the soup with the mushrooms. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mushrooms and beans, added to soup, for a brief simmer by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A generous amount of chopped parsley, at the end. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished soup, with a little Asiago cheese grated on top. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[webmaster]

Looks great! What kind of cuisine is that?

[pepperhead212]

Not really a cuisine, per se; though I have the lentils in it, it's not Indian, but I use those in many dishes, as they are faster cooking than larger beans. And I often add some soy sauce, fish sause, or maybe some miso, to soups for some salt, and umami flavor, but it doesn't come through as an Asian taste. The boletus and the herbs and the cheese make it sort of Italian, if I had to say a particular cuisine.

[applestar]

This is not a recipe post per se, but an illustrative description of my randomness

…Mini Apple Custard Tarts made with previously made apple brandy spiked diced baked apples; tart base made with made up combination of cake flour, brown rice flour, cut in butter, solidified coconut oil (found at top of a can of full-fat coconut milk while pouring out, along with some of the coconut cream), vanilla sugar, home made apple flavored rice vinegar, etc…. and because I didn’t have enough to fill the silicon 6 hamburger bun /muffin top pan mini tart, I supplemented with “custard” made of mascarpone and beaten egg + vanilla sugar, nutmeg, more apple brandy, etc.

Wild guessed oven temp and time were a bit off … PLUS I got distracted when I went to check on the Garage V8 Nursery — ended up trimming dead/yellowed leaves and grooming the strawberry plants and letting the time ran out, instead of watching and adjusting time/temp

Served with my often voiced, “Enjoy! I won’t be able to make this again!”

I took the burntest one and had it with frozen whipped coconut cream topping (one DD had hers with cherry vanilla ice cream). And yes, it turned out yummy!

[Gary350]

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Wife made chicken vegetable soup for dinner. She boiled chicken in water to make broth then add, peas, corn, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, black pepper, and 4 chicken bouillon cubes. Wow this is so good I ate 2 bowls.

[imafan26]

The soup looks good. How much water per bouillon cube?

[Gary350]

The soup looks good. How much water per bouillon cube?

About 3 pints of water to boil chicken then add all the vegetables. If its too thick add more water. Then add bouillon cubes 1 by 1 to get the flavor you like.

[imafan26]

Thanks that's helpful. I usually start with chicken broth because when I start with water, it smells good, but tastes like water.

[pepperhead212]

This is definitely a random recipe, as you can see!

Today I looked through my legumes, to see what I had that oldest, that I should use up, and I saw these Christmas Limas that someone gave me last year. So I used half of them in some soup.

First, I precooked the limas, using the Milk Street method - in 3 c water, 1/4 tsp baking soda, pressure cooked 5 minutes, then pressure released, and drained.

I started with 6 oz of bacon, cooking it on sauté for about 5 minutes, adding the chopped onion, once I did that, sautéed that until golden, then added a tb of minced garlic, and about 2 tb of gochujang, and cooked another minute - there was a solid, dark layer of fond, and I poured in a cup of water, to release it. I added 1 tsp Syrian oregano (would have used 3/4 tsp thyme, instead), 1 tb each sweet and smoked paprika, 3 fresh bay leaves, about 1/2 tsp black pepper, about 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and about 2 tsp soy sauce (more salt later). Then I added 5 c of chicken broth and the limas, brought to a boil, then set to 8 minutes pressure cook on manual. When it had released 15 minutes, I released it (not much pressure left), then tasted the soup, for salt, and seasonings, and it just needed a little salt.

While cooking, I peeled and diced that small kohlrabi (about 3/4 c), and the smallest butternut I had (about 2½ c). And I de-stemmed and chopped up about 4 c of brassica greens. I added all this, plus 3/4 c red lentils and 1/2 c black quinoa, adjusted the salt, then I set to manual, 4 minutes, and let release 20 minutes. The soup thickened just enough, and the seasoning only needed a little more black pepper.

Christmas Limas by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Soup, with Christmas Limas, bacon, quinoa, red lentils, greens, kohlrabi, and butternut squash. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

I’m playing with sourdough right now and have two loaves of bread dough in their banneton baskets in the fridge that will be engaged in my first lame slash and “trial by fire” later.

In the mean time, I also have started a batch to proof for making sourdough bagels tomorrow morning

…and while feeding and nursing along my first batch of sourdough starter, ventured into experimentation euphoria yesterday morning — the resulting pan-fried sourdough/apple cider doughnuts filled with banana-fig custard was a big hit with the family

[pepperhead212]

I had a craving for something Indian today, and I wanted to use up the last near lb of those mushrooms. I made a batch of pav bhaji, using some of that pav bhaji masala I made recently. I cooked a large chopped onion in some ghee in a 12" sauté pan, adding the garlic and ginger, a diced yellow bell pepper, plus the spices, and after a minute, the chopped mushrooms were added, and cooked several minutes, while I fixed the rest of the ingredients. I added 3/4 tsp turmeric, and a tb of Kashmiri chili powder, to mix with the liquid. I had soaked a small amount of boletus, and used the soaking water, plus some dried tomatoes (just to empty a jar!), blended smooth, and used this to simmer the sautéed mix with briefly, before adding the rice and barley, followed by the broccoli, which I had in the freezer. Usually cauliflower is in these dishes, but this is just as good. Added some chopped cilantro, as usual, in these dishes.

Before I cooked this, I cooked some brown basmati and barley together to use with it - always love barley with mushrooms! They cook together in the IP well - a little sticky together, from the barley, but it mixed in well.
Pav Bhaji masala and minced garlic and ginger, added to the onion, cooking in the ghee by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After cooking the chopped mushrooms about 5 minutes, in the ghee, the tomato/dried boletus mix simmered 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The precooked brown rice and barley, mixed in, followed by the broccoli, and some cilantro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished Pav Bhaji, with mushrooms and broccoli. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

I made Mac and Cheese for a Christmas potluck today. It was originally a slow cooker recipe, but I guess it could be made in an instant pot as well. I used the quick option on the recipe for baking it in the oven.

I have only made mac and cheese once or twice before and I did not like it. The box one tasted better. It was salty, dry, and bland. I wanted to try this one again and this recipe had a lot of good comments and ratings and some unusual ingredients.

Notes: According to the author of the recipe the pasta (can be elbows, shells, or other kinds of small pasta but it should be cooked firm about 2 minutes less than the time on the packaging. Otherwise after cooking, the pasta might be too soft. Tip 2. Make sure there is enough moisture in the mix or the pasta might end up being hard. Tip 3 Pre shredded cheese does not melt well because of the extra flour used to keep it from caking in the packaging so you have to grate your own. Sharp cheddar, or a mix of Sharp cheddar and some other melting cheese. Tip 4. This recipe does not use milk or a bechamel sauce. According to the author. If it is over cooked or reheated too much a cream sauce will break. Tip 5. If you want a breadcrumb topping then toast panko breadcrumbs with butter until browned and then top the mac and cheese.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
2 cups elbow or shell macaroni cooked according to the package directions but drain about 2 minutes earlier when the pasta is still firm. Cool to stop cooking.
3 cups grated block sharp cheddar cheese. It can also be a mix of cheddar and some other melting cheese.
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp dry mustard powder. I could not find any in the store so I used a tablespoon of prepared hot mustard.
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder.
1 10.5 oz can of cream of chicken or cream of cheddar cheese soup (do not add any water)
1 chicken breast poached or 1 skinless breast of a rotisserie chicken diced into bite sized pieces
10 oz package of frozen broccoli cuts or broccoli spears cut into bite sized pieces.

After draining pasta, combine the rest of the ingredients except the frozen broccoli in a large bowl. Mix well. Pour into 6 qt crock pot, cook on high for 2 hours. Stir after the first hour and add the frozen broccoli for the second hour. Top with browned panko bread crumbs if desired.

Fast method. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Put all the ingredients together pasta, sauce ingredients, spices, chicken and frozen broccoli in a large bowl and mix well.
Transfer to baking dish. You can top with the panko breadcrumbs, but I topped it with more cheese (velveeta slices. I did not want to grate any more cheese). The recipe called for it to be baked 30 minutes covered. (I used release foil sprayed with olive oil cooking spray to keep it from sticking to the cheese topping). Remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

The original recipe did not have chicken and broccoli. I added it to make this a complete one pot meal instead of a side dish. I used a recycled aluminum pan that I recycled from a Costco meal (Korean bul go gi). Because of the thickness of the pasta, it needed to cook longer to melt the sharp cheddar. The velveeta had no problem melting. If this was in a wider pan it would probably have cooked in time. I did not want to use a 9x13 pan because I did not want the pasta to dry out too much.

Using the chicken was better than the ham I used last time. That was just an overload of salt for me. I chose the velveeta slices for the topping because I don't like the dry breadcrumbs on mac and cheese. Velveeta is a nice melting cheese and easier than grating more cheese.

The use of the soup, mayo and sour cream instead of the usual bechamel sauce was novel and amazingly it works really well. I got good comments from people at the party. However, all the food was fantastic. I thought about adding some smoked paprika to the dish, but I did not want to mess around with it too much the first time doing it.

[Gary350]

Vegetable Soup

Wife made vegetable soup for dinner. I cut up all the, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, celery, potatoes. Fry ham in skillet for better flavor. Put meat and vegetables in a cook pot, pour in whole milk, sprinkle in, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, black pepper. Cook 2 hours.

Broccoli and cauliflower should have been added near the end of the cook they fell apart and vanished into the gravy.

This was so good I ate 3 bowls.

[Gary350]

Venezuela Pineapple Bread

We met our new neighbors from Venezuela today. Josh was a Electronic Engineering Professor at the University. Wife Maria was a nurse at the hospital. Wife gave us Pineapple Bread. They had a garden in Venezuela bigger than our whole back yard with, pigs, chickens, goats, vegetables.

Homemade bread is a tortilla with, chicken, pork, cheese, pineapple filling. Rolled up like a Burrito. This is lunch or dinner you take to work every day in Venezuela.

This gives me lunch ideas. Tortilla with, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, sauce, etc. rolled up with meat, fillings can not fall out like it does with a sandwich. I'm not sure if you can buy deli meat in Venezuela.

[pepperhead212]

That's great you have neighbors like that! I'm sure you'll be able to trade some more useful food info, as well as info for the garden, once that gets going!

[Gary350]

Today at lunch time I searched the refrigerator for left overs to make lunch with. I found, 3 small pieces of BBQ chicken, diced onion, diced celery, cheddar cheese, graded carrots, lettuce, and only 2 small tortilla shells. 8" diameter tortilla shells are too small to fold in both ends, 1 end folded will work. I think this should be called, Venezuela, chicken, onion, celery, cheese, carrots, lettuce, bread.

It turned out very good. Tortilla shells need to be on our next grocery list. This is a great lunch with endless choices to make it different every time.

[imafan26]

I did not really do anything random. It is New Year, so I made a very traditional nishime but with a different recipe. I harvested araimo from the garden in November and finally got to use it for this. I will be eating this all week.

[pepperhead212]

This is definitely one of my dishes I put together at random! And it turned out pretty good.

Today I got some things out of the freezer - trying to get some "older things" out of there, and got some tortillas and 26 oz of ham. I also took out 12 oz of green beans, from last year's harvest - not old, but I wanted some vegetables in whatever I threw together. Not used often in Mexican cooking, as well as ham, but I put together a chili/mole dish, with some pinto beans - also old, but they still cooked up well.

I made up a mole sauce, with the usual seasonings - some toasted sesame, pumpkin seeds, Mexican cinnamon, allspice, black peppercorns, cumin, and coriander seed. I toasted some whole garlic cloves, and I also toasted some chiles - guajillos, mulato, cascabel, and a pasilla, and some dried tomatoes, and soaked those, before blending smooth in the Vitamix, with the seeds, garlic, and a half a tablet of Mexican chocolate. I scraped this into the wok, then washed the blender out with water, and used that for cooking the pintos. I cooked a large, chopped onion in the Instant Pot in some oil, before adding the beans and that "mole water", and cooked them on manual, 25 min, while doing the mole on the stove, releasing the pressure naturally.

While that was cooking, I cooked down the mole, starting on low, with that splatter screen, scraping more often, once it gets thicker, then I raised the heat, and scraped it constantly, until darker, and very thick.

When beans were done, I put the thawed beans in, along with the mole, and the diced ham, and some red lentils (needed a little more thickness, but I didn't want to do it with masa). Didn't add salt, though it definitely needed more, since the ham will add some. I simmered another 25 minutes, and then added a little salt. Served some, with the heated up tortillas. The tortillas were almost 2 years old, but still good, in the vacuum bag. And these are those really good ones - not made with the corn flour, but the nixtamal, before it is dried out.
Pan toasted dried tomatoes and Chiles, for the mole, before blending. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Pintos, with the sauteed onions - no Chiles in it yet, just rinsed out the blender to use the water. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mole, just getting ready to cook it down. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Wok cover, to prevent the splatter, in the beginning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mole, cooked very thick, and ready to go into the pintos.. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The mole/chili dish, with some frozen green beans and ham added towards the end, cooking another 30 min. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Frozen tortillas, the ones made with nixtamal, not the masa harina. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Those frozen corn tortillas, getting ready to heat some up. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Heating a tortilla up over the gas flame. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished chili/mole, with a couple heated tortillas, and some Tia Angelita Queso Fresco. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Made Chicken soup to eat with my sour dough (pumpernickel swirl-ish) bread —

- 4 thighs and 2 breasts. Thighs slowly browned caramelized in olive oil, turning to avoid burning.
- Added finely diced carrots, onions, celery, Aji Dulce Amarillo peppers (in order) as they cooked, and added smashed/minced garlic cloves, last of the summer tomatoes still hanging around in the kitchen diced with skin on (medium, small, and a few cherries), sea salt, freshly ground black peppers, pumpkin spice mix (no reason in particular). 2 big dried bay laurel leaves. A splash of sake to help scrape up browned bits from bottom. Diced chicken breast cubes.
- “Better Than Bouillon” roasted chicken flavor (about 2 tsps), low sodium chicken broth, a small uh pack of chickpeas with liquid,
- Fingering potatoes, Frozen sweet corn and green peas.
- Once simmering, skimmed foam and fat
- added liquid portion of a can of full fat organic coconut milk (reserved the solidified coconut oil/cream to add to my morning coffee). Added big diced carrots.
- Pulled apart the chicken thighs once fork tender, and brought back to simmer. And that’s it.

[pepperhead212]

I was getting a craving for Indian food, so I made a one dish meal with a sambar, which I made with a large onion, bell pepper, carrot, and some rehydrated eggplants, plus about a tb of minced garlic. I already had the sambar masala ready, which I used about 3 tb of, along with 2 tb tamarind. I used 3 different dals, plus 1/2 c whole oats, instead of serving on rice. I also ate one of those WW bread sticks with it, that I made today - something I often eat instead of flatbreads, if I have them.
Starting to cook the veggies together for the sambar mix, adding a little tamarind at the end. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cooking the sambar masala with the veggies, briefly before adding the eggplant, water, salt, oats, and 3 dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tarka added to the sambar, for tempering. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished sambar, with a couple bread sticks, instead flatbread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

I appreciate all the Indian recipes. I never encountered so many different ones. I only have one or two Indian recipes. I don't cook very complex meals especially now. I do really simple things. I just made mandarin chicken, but since I have these dietary restrictions, I don't make it the usual way. Normally, the chicken would be fried and stir fried in a thickened soy, ginger, and citrus sauce.

I don't have a lot of fried food and I can't have all the sugar, salt, and carbs in most sauces. I really love fruit, but most fruits are off the menu because they have so much carbs.

I just basically put chicken thighs or legs in a glass casserole, add a can of mandarin oranges and microwave it for about 18 minutes. Most people would probably not like this. They would want to add more salt and have gravy that is more sweet sour and thick. The mandarin oranges do have 10 g of carbs but they are packed in water, no added sugar. Ten grams of carbs are fewer carbs than a serving of oatmeal, bread, or an apple. The sugar is enough for me so I don't miss the salt. Without soy sauce, there is no added salt. I could add ginger, but I don't really need it. It is one of the more palatable low sodium quick meals I make. Now, it would be healthier if I used skinless chicken breasts instead of the thighs.

[pepperhead212]

I had some salad late this afternoon, then I made some mushroom barley soup this evening, with some cremini, and some dried boletus mushrooms - where most of that brown color comes from. Started in the Instant Pot with a chopped onion, sautéed until slightly browned in olive oil, followed by some minced garlic, red miso, and some tomato paste, cooked another minute, adding the soaking water and minced boletus, plus a tsp of minced fresh rosemary, and a tsp of dried Syrian oregano (my way of adding thyme flavor), and cooked that down to a sizzle, then added 5 c water, and 2/3 c pearl barley. Adjusted salt (didn't need a lot), then was cooked on high pressure 25 min, and pressure released naturally.

While cooking, I got the creminis cleaned, quartered, steamed, then when the small amount of water evaporates, a couple tsp of oil is added, and they are browned in that oil, and set aside. I harvested a generous 2 c each of mizuna and arugula, once chopped up, and set aside.

When the IP was opened, the creminis and greens were added to the pot, plus 1/3 c split moong dal, with hulls still attached, and simmered another 25 min, not under pressure. Corrected the seasonings, then served it with a little freshly grated parmesan.
mushroom barley soup, with some chopped up greens. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I had another bowl of that mushroom barley soup for dinner, plus I made a snack of 1,2,3,4,5 chicken gizzards - something I made with some gizzards I got at the Asian market today. The original recipe was 1½ tb chopped up spareribs, with 1 tb rice wine, 2 tb dark soy, 3 tb white vinegar, 4 tb sugar, and 5 tb water, giving it the name. I usually add 1½ tsp 5 spice powder, which tastes great. I have used this method for boneless pork, and boneless chicken thighs, which works great. This time I put the trimmed gizzards in the Instant Pot, with the ingredients, mixed it up, and pressure cooked it 90 min. It got very tender in that time. Then I set it on sauté/high, and cooked the liquid down, until just a glaze remains. The gizzards had a really good flavor, with a strong, irony flavor, with that 5 spice glaze.
1,2,3,4,5 chicken gizzards, pressure cooked 90 minutes, then the liquid cooked down 7 or 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I made a delicious salad, started a couple nights ago! lol Actually, I soaked 1/4 c of mung beans overnight Tuesday, then sprouted them Wednesday and most of today, giving me over 2 c of half sprouts (another couple days would give well over a quart of full sized sprouts). The original recipe that gave me the idea for this was an Indian dish, with partially sprouted moth dal beans, with some shredded cabbage, but that's all the similarity. I sprouted mung beans instead, and shredded some Brussels sprouts I had, as the base for the salad. I first pressure cooked about 1/2 c kamut, in 3 c salted water in the Instant Pot, for 15 minutes, released the heat naturally, then stirred the sprouts in, for about 30 seconds, to blanch them, then drained and rinsed with cold water, to chill, then drained.

While that was cooking, I minced up a shallot, then soaked it in the juice of 1 lime (1.8 oz). Then I sliced up the Brussels sprouts in the food processor (basically shredding it), then diced up two ripe bell peppers, and minced up 5 green Thai peppers, along with about 1/2 c cilantro. I also drained a 6.5 oz can of kippered herring, and broke the fish up (later I added a half size can, as this didn't seem like enough). All of these I mixed up, then mixed in the well drained kamut and sprouts mix. Then I stirred in about 3 tb (or whatever the end of the bottle had!) olive oil, about 2 tb rice vinegar (adding a little more, until it tasted right), and a generous amount of nam pla prik (hot fish sauce), which was most of the salt in it. I always like making salads with Brussels sprouts, and this is a favorite one of the ones I've come up with, so far. Got over 2 qts of salad.
4 tb sprouted mung beans, soaked overnight, and now sprouted about 36 hours. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished salad, with sprouts, kamut, sliced Brussels sprouts, Thai peppers, bell peppers, cilantro, shallots, lime juice, rice vinegar, olive oil, fish sauce, and kippers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

With the leftovers, I'll probably wrap some in those leaf lettuce trimmings, and eat it that way.

[Gary350]

This morning I pulled left overs out of the refrigerator to see what I can make with them. Lettuce, taco meat, 3 egg rolls, 2 slices of pizza, baked beans, fried potatoes, teriyaki sauce, cheese, chips.

I filled the bowl with lettuce, then chips & cheddar cheese. Then BBQ bake beans, fried potatoes, teriyaki sauce, taco meat, 1 egg roll and 1/2 cup of coffee. .Funny this actually turned out very good.